Pinsetter machines for bowling centers have existed for over fifty years. Most of these machines operate electromechanically. Although these machines are a great improvement over methods where pins are reset by hand, the pinsetter machines currently available have room for improvement.
Many of these machines have ballwheel arrangements to separate bowling balls from the pins during resetting and other operations. One major problem with the models of electromechanical pinsetter machines having ballwheels is damage caused to pins, balls, and even the ball lift rod or other parts of the pinsetter machines. This damage often occurs due to the failure of the pinsetter machine to properly separate the pins from a ball after the deck has been cleared. One or more pins may be caught up with the ball on the ballwheel, and either or both the pins and balls may be damaged. Specifically, one or more pins may cause the ball to be wedged between a lift rod and a shaker board of the machine, which results in the ball being damaged by the ball wheel. Other times, one or more pins may get caught up in a lift rod, possibly becoming damaged itself and/or causing damage to the ball as the ballwheel spins it up the lift rod. Sometimes components of the pinsetter machines themselves, such as the lift rod, are damaged by such jams. Bowling balls may cost hundreds of dollars, and the cost of repair or replacement is almost always borne by the bowling center. While bowling pins are not as expensive, replacing them incurs some cost and can add up over time. Pinsetter machine parts may also be expensive, and the lane down time for a pinsetting machine requiring repair also may cause the bowling center to lose business.
Bowling center mechanics have long sought to alleviate this problem through slowing down the ballwheels and/or installing springs, bungee cords, and various other items within the pinsetter machine. While some of these attempted improvements help to limit these problematic occurrences, they are often unsuccessful and do not hold up to the wear and tear of use. These attempted improvements are also less than ideal since slowing down the operation of the pinsetter machine results in slower games, resulting in fewer games played and less money spent at the bowling center.